


Do It Right the Second Time (and maybe the third)

by orphan_account



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, M/M, Relationship Development, Wedding Planning, marriage proposals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 04:55:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8831239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It was just a thing they had.  It was a thing that was there, hovering over them as their relationship went from enemies on the ice, to planning a wedding.  Kent just didn't think about how they hadn't done it right the first time.  But there was always a second.  And a third.





	

Patater. NSFW-ish

They’re a little tipsy, in a bar, high off the adrenaline of the game, and a little high off hating each other because Kent’s play had been dirty, and Alexei’s threats had been close to real.

But they’re both smiling now. Kent’s leaning into him in the booth, and neither of them had been recognised so far. They’re three drinks in--Kent on beer and Alexei drinking manhattans like they were water.

“I thought it would be all vodka for you,” Kent chirps for the third time that night. “Fuck they have this stuff here that’s like...grapefruit. Grapefruit vodka. Do you have that in Russia.”

“In Russia we drink vodka like it meant to be drink,” Alexei says, slowly losing his grip on his English, though neither of them seems to care much.

Kent laughs at that. “Fuck. Yeah. Whiskey though.” He lifts his pint up and clinks it against Alexei’s glass, and Alexei tips his back.

When he drops his glass, he’s pinching a cherry between his teeth with a huge grin. His teeth aren’t totally even. One’s got a slightly more bright colour, and it sticks out a little more and Kent’s pretty sure it’s a crown. He’s got four himself.

He also kind of wants to grab Alexei by the back of the neck and kiss him, and suck that cherry into his own mouth.

Instead he says, “Gay marriage is legal.” It just slips out.

Alexei blinks at him. “I’m know this. Have friend, they celebrate. Good laws here, make people happy.”

“Still fucking fucked in hockey, and like literally every other professional sport.” He chugs what’s left of the beer, then stares down into the dredges of his glass and tries not to think of the last person he talked about marriage with. A six month, whirlwind relationship with some PR asshole who got fired after making threats of exposing Kent. There was a lawsuit, and a gag order, and Kent still doesn’t feel safe. Like one of these days the fucker is just going to write a tell-all memoir and Kent’s gonna be outed whether he likes it or not.

“Is better than Russia,” Alexei says, and that breaks Kent’s train of thought.

Kent looks at him. “Would you marry me? If I was like...a woman?”

Alexei shakes his head. “No. But I’m marry you if you like this. Kent Parson. Man, woman. Is okay, so long as you are...you.” Alexei says all this, like he’s not entirely sure he’s getting his meaning across, and Kent nearly loses his battle with trying to leap across the short distance between them and fucking kiss him.

“We should elope. To Vegas. We could get married by Elvis. Fuck spending money on a wedding, you know? Like...let’s elope, then we buy some amazing house on the coast of...”

“Venice Beach,” Alexei says decidedly. “I’m go there two years ago with Snowy. Good place, nice people. Pretty.”

“Are you two together?”

Alexei shakes his head. “No.” There’s purpose behind that no, like Kent thinks it might mean something for him, but he’s too drunk to be sure and too drunk to be having this conversation. So he puts distance between them and sighs, and orders another beer.

They part ways with two separate ubers, but they’ve exchanged numbers and Kent has a text waiting for him when he gets to his hotel.  
Maybe next time, in Vegas, we think about it.

*** 

The next time they play the Falconers is in Vegas. They don’t get drunk, and they don’t get married.

But they fuck in Kent’s bathroom. Alexei takes Kent by the hips, Kent leant over the sink and holding on to the cultured marble like his life depends on it, and his moans fill up the bathroom louder than when he’s crooning along to Annie Lennox during his morning shower mix.

Alexei doesn’t do more than grunt noises, half in Russian, some of them like he’s trying to say Kent’s name but can’t quite get his tongue round the syllables.

It’s fine though, because after Kent comes, Alexei hauls Kent upright, against his chest, shoves one of Kent’s knees onto the counter, and fucks him so hard he sees stars. When Alexei finishes, he bites onto Kent’s shoulder, then soothes it with small kisses and licks, and it’s really no wonder Alexei has to carry him to the bed.

They doze for a few hours, and Kent wakes to Alexei staring at him, gently brushing his fringe away from his forehead. “When we marry,” Alexei says quietly, “I’m think not Vegas. I’m want some place which beautiful as you.”

Kent swears his heart is trying to beat out of his chest, and he’s so overwhelmed with want he can’t speak. Alexei doesn’t seem to mind. He locks eyes with Kent, then leans in and kisses him.

He has to fly home the next day, but Kent wakes up with a photo in a text--clearly from google images--of a small, rocky cliffside near the blue pacific and a text that says, Is close enough? )))

Kent takes a screen shot of the photo and the text, then deletes it out of his messages. He doesn’t reply to that text, doesn’t say anything to Alexei until he’s sure the other man has landed on the East Coast. Then he sends, When is your next long weekend?

*** 

“Are we really doing this?” It’s been a year, and both the Aces and the Falconers made it into the playoffs, but were out relatively early. So they plan a trip together, hitting up a few of their must-sees. One of the trips lands them in Cabo, and Kent speaks passing Spanish, and everyone there speaks enough English and seems overly charmed by Alexei’s heavy accent so they have a great time.

Their last night is spent on their private stretch of beach with a couple of drinks, curled up together on a chaise with water-logged cushions. Kent’s been in the sea twice, and his cowlicks are worse than ever, sticky with salt, and his skin is dry and itchy, but he doesn’t really care.

Not when Alexei is holding him between the V of his legs and licking the bits of dried salt water from the crook of his neck.

“I’m want to. You still want to marry me?”

Neither one of them had proposed. Their engagement evolved along side their relationship, when it had gone from fucking to fighting to agreeing they wanted to be together. And they never stopped talking about their Venice Beach wedding and Kent was just starting to realise now that he meant it, and Alexei did too.

“Yeah,” Kent says, and turns his head to capture Alexei’s lips with his own. It’s a little dirty, because why the hell not, they’re on a fucking private beach in Cabo and no one is lurking with cameras. Kent groans, then sighs. “You gotta tell the guys.”

“I’m tell this summer. We have Little Falconers camp.”

“Zimms knows. I mean...he sort of knows,” Kent says, and Alexei knows that, because Jack had caught Alexei and Kent together when Alexei failed to fucking mention Jack moved into his building and Kent decided to use the gym. Kent had to confess to something, unless he wanted Jack to think Kent was stalking him.

Alexei didn’t seem to mind. Jack had already come out about Bittle anyway, and the only thing Kent gave a shit about was that it didn’t hurt like he thought it would.  
“Yes. He is good friend. We tell others. All good guys. Is okay. We have nice wedding, they come, give gifts.”

“Gifts. Greedy fucker,” Kent says, and laughs into their next kiss. “So when you wanna?”

“One year. If we don’t win cup.”

“Well I dunno about you, but I’m fucking winning it next year. So let’s say July.”

Alexei cups Kent’s cheeks with his massive hand and strokes his thumb along his favourite patch of freckles, and nods. “July. Birthday gift. Wedding gift.”

“Uhg. You’re gross. I can’t believe I’m gonna marry you,” Kent says, and tries to kiss Alexei a third time, but he’s smiling too hard.

*** 

Kent’s hands are shaking when he realises what Alexei’s doing. He’d been working on squats when Alexei came through the door, and suddenly he’s down on one knee and he’s got a little box in his hands and...what the fuck.

“I’m not...make it official before. I’m not ask.”

“Tater,” Kent says, using the nickname he only uses when Alexei’s being ridiculous, “we’re planning a fucking wedding. We’re getting married in like nine weeks!”

Alexei shrugs. “I’m not do it right, first time,” he insists, and opens the box and inside is a tri-coloured gold band, woven into a plait, soft round the edges and fucking gorgeous. “I’m love you. I’m not know I love you when I see you, but I know is something about you, Kent Parson, that I want forever. So, please, will you marry me.”

“You’re such a fucking idiot,” Kent all-but sobs as Alexei slides the band onto his finger because he knows Kent isn’t going to say no. When it’s on, the weight of it heavy and grounding, he drags Alexei by the collar into a fierce kiss.

When he finally pulls back, Alexei mutters, “You stink like sweat.”

“Fuck you. The moment we’re married I’m divorcing you.”

Alexei grins. “Then I can marry you again. Next time you pay. Too many friends, too expensive.”

Kent’s lifted by his ass, his legs round Alexei’s waist, and he kisses him as he’s pushed against the wall, and their hips grind together. “Fuck you.”

“Yes, okay,” Alexei bites back, and then Kent does.

When it’s over, Kent’s staring at him, and he sees funny expressions playing across Alexei’s face. “What are you thinking?”

Alexei sighs, and turns on his side. “I was nervous. Surprise me, because we plan wedding, but when words come out I’m think...what if he say no? Is silly but...” he trails off with a shrug, and all Kent can do is kiss him until his expression melts into a smile.

“Nine weeks,” Kent says a little while later, and twists the ring on his finger.

Alexei steals his hand and presses a kiss to the band. “Nine weeks,” he repeats.

*** 

Kent didn’t fully understood what the fuck Alexei was on about, being nervous, except now he does. Because he’s sat on the edge of the bed and Alexei has just opened the box, and about twenty little bits of paper shaped like hearts have fluttered out.

Alexei’s reading them all and grinning because they’re written in Kent’s shitty as fuck Cryllic but they say things like, “I love you,” and “Yours forever,” and random little tid bits from their relationship. Then there’s some still tucked into the ring box and they say all the things Kent can’t get his mouth to repeat.

I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?

When Alexei reads those aloud, Kent gets down on his knee--just like Alexei had done for him, and takes the ring out. It’s Platinum and plain, except a few emeralds set in the constellation of cancer, subtle enough you have to really look for it.  
He stares at Alexei whose eyes are a little wet and he says, “We get marry in two weeks.”

Kent shrugs. “Yeah well. I wanted to do it right, too.”

Alexei laughs and holds his hand out, and the moment the ring is on, he drags Kent into his lap and kisses him until neither of them can breathe. The box falls from his hands and the little notes flutter to the floor, falling like ugly confetti, bearing Kent’s soul to the rest of the universe, now that he’s given it to Alexei to take care of.

“Alyosha,” Kent murmurs as he’s pushed against the pillows. He puts one hand on Alexei’s cheek, and the other brushes through his loose waves. “In the bar that first night, when I said Vegas, I kind of meant it. I wanted to kiss you.”

Alexei drags his closed lips along the cut of Kent’s jaw, along his mouth, to his ear where he nibbles on the lobe for a second. He holds himself there, like he’s savouring every space their bodies are touching, and Kent shivers all over.

“I’m want you to kiss me, too. Am hoping you will.”

“I did, eventually,” Kent says, and Alexei pulls back to smile at him.

“Yes, you did. Am hoping you love me, also.”

Kent shrugs, brushing his thumb just under Alexei’s bottom lip. “I do.”

Alexei hums in pleasure, kissed the pads of his fingers. “Yes. You do.” He kisses the inside of Kent’s wrist, then his palm, then his mouth. “I do too.”


End file.
